Composite board for finishing surfaces.



(No Model.)

Patented May 28, |90I. C. L. WATSON.

COMPOSITE BOARD FOR FINISHING SUBFACES.

(Application led Mar. 8, 1900.\

ljgi;

l WU

v i "NWN lll pv l Ill Carfes .roa By @waan/ron NITE) Sffl PATENT EricE.

CHARLES L. \VATSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

COMPOSITE BOARD FOR FINISHING SURFACES.

SPEGZZFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 675,146, dated May 28, 1901.

Application filed March 8, 1900. Seria] No. 7,867. (No model.)

To all whom, t may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES L. WATSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Composite Board for Piano-Cases and the Like, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a novel construction o f composite board especially designed for use in the construction of piano-cases and the like.

To this end the invention primarily contemplates an improved composite structure which involves a novel means or method of finishing wood and analogous surfaces to give the desired ornamental and polished effect,

-while at the same time being entirely unaffected by ordinary changes in temperature, thereby indefinitely preserving the finished effect without the streaking or checking which is so prevalent in varnish-finished surfaces of cabinet-work.

Infvery fine cabinet-work, especially in the manufactu reof piano cases and panels, one of the greatest objections to the work, no matter how carefully executed, is the liability of the varnished surface to become streaked or checked by exposure to the varying temperatures of a room. In the formation of panels for pianos especially the finished surface of such panels is'usually made of three or four layers of veneer sheets glued together, and over which it is ordinarily necessary to place about six or more coats of varnish to obtain the requisite high degree of polish or gloss. Inasmuch as the different coats of varnish in such work require a considerable period of time-often as much as two weeksto dry, the mere finishing of panels for pianocases and similar work requires an excessive length of time, and it is the purpose of the present invention to provide a means whereby the surface may be finished with the desired ornamentation without this waste of time, besides providing a surface thoroughly temperatureu proof. Even when varnished with the greatest care. the finished surfaces or panels for piano-cases and similar work are sensitive to the different changes of temperature in a room, and the glue for holding the veneer sheets together softens or contracts, as the case may be, and the wood will absorb the varnish, thereby leaving unsightly streaks and checks, whereas in the present invention the ornamentation for the surface is thoroughly rotected against temperature influence, while a thewsmetimerthe'desired polish or gloss is maintained.

WVith these and other objects in view the invention consists in the novel structure and means for making the same fully set forth in the appended description and claim.

Vhile the essential feature of the invention is necessarily susceptible to embodiment in connection with all kinds of cabinet-work requiring highly-finished surfaces, still for illustrative purposes there is shown in the drawings a simple embodimentof theinvention.

In the drawings, Figure l isaplan viewof 'a composite board in the form of a panel constructed in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional View thereof. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the transparent iinishing-sheet,indicatin g the position of the ornamentation upon said sheet.

In carrying out the invention the backing or body which is to present the ornamented or finished surface may consist of an ordinary slab or panel l of wood, or, in fact, may consist of the several layers of veneer strips which are ordinarily used in the panel-work for piano-cases but whatever the form of the backing may be, according to the nature of the cabinet-work, the outer or exposed side thereof is left unfinished and is adapted to have applied thereto a nishing-sheet 2 of impervious transparent material. This transparent finishing-sheet 2 is preferably formed of the pyroxylin material commonly known as celiuloid, inasmuch as the same will present a perfectly smooth and highly-glossed surface which will answer every purpose of the glossy and polished effect of a varnished surface; but in addition to utilizing the celluloid or equivalent transparent sheet 2 to give the desired glossy or polished effect to the surface the said sheet is designed to have applied to the reverse or protected side thereof surface ornamentation 3, which is viewable through the sheet from the front or exposed side thereof. The said surface ornamentaa IOO tion 3, Which is applied directly to the reverse or protected side of the transparent sheet 2, may be Varnished upon the sheet or otherwise suitably applied, although a convenient and preferable Way of securing this ornamentation is by transferring the same upon the transparent sheet by the ordinary decalcomania process, and after the application of the surface ornamentation 3 the said ornamented side of the sheet is joined throughout its entire area to the outer face of the backing or base-sheet l, said union of parts being preferably accomplished by a suitable cement or other adhesive means, thereby making a composite-board structure which presents a highly glosscd or polished surface and exposes to View any desired ornamentation. This ornamentation usually is in imitation of veneergraining of any pattern, so that the finished surface will have to the eye the appearance of the natural grain of the wood. In addition to the veneer imitation the surface ornamentation 3 of the transparent sheet may include any suitable picture or design, such as suggested by the drawings.

From the foregoing it is thought that the construction of the composite board, the method of making the same, and the many advantages of the invention will readily appear to those familiar with the art Without further description, and it will be understood that various changes in the form, proportion, and minor det-ails of construction maybe resorted to Without departing from the principle or sacricing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is-

As a new article of manufacture, a composite board for use in the construction of pianocases and the like, comprising a continuous wooden panel having its outer face left unfinished, a pyroxylin sheet coextensive with the panel, and having ornamentation applied directly to its protected or reverse side, next to the panel and perfectly Hatl throughout its entire extent, and an adhesive coating applied to the unnished surface of the Wooden panel between the latter and the ornamentation of the pyroxylin sheet and constituting the sole means for uniting the sheet uniformly to the backing, and protecting the ornamentation on the pyroxylin sheet, whereby the wooden panel may be given the desired ornamental and polished effect while at the same time being unaffected by ordinary changes in temperature.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

CHARLES L. WATSON.

NVitnesses:

C. I-I. PHILLIP, HUGH S. CARDoZo. 

